Giants Complete Sweep Of Sixers With 2-1 Victory

SAN JOSE - Trevor Brown drew a bases loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to force home the winning run propelling the San Jose Giants to a 2-1 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers on Sunday evening at Municipal Stadium. With the win, San Jose completes a sweep of the three-game series while also earning their third walk-off victory in the last eight days.

Mac Williamson (2-for-4, 2B, RBI), Brock Bond (2-for-2) and Chris Lofton (2-for-5) had two hits apiece to lead the Giants offensively.

The game was tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Arnold began the rally when he was hit by a pitch with one out. Pinch-hitter Myles Schroder then grounded a single into left to move Arnold, the potential winning run, to second. New pitcher Cam Bedrosian then retired Elliott Blair on a fly out to left before Lofton reached on an infield single to load the bases. Brown was up next and after falling behind in the count 1-2, he took three straight pitches out of the strike zone to draw the walk and bring home Arnold.

Stephen Harrold (5-2) was credited with the win out of the San Jose bullpen after tossing a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

Austin Fleet started on the mound for the Giants and worked six effective innings with just one run and six hits allowed. Fleet walked none and matched a season-high with six strikeouts during his 89-pitch effort.

Inland Empire's only run of the night came in the top of the second inning when Chance Ross delivered a two-out single to score Gary Mitchell from second base.

San Jose tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third as Blair led off with a single before a two-out walk to Bond. Williamson then stepped to the plate and smashed a double into the left field corner to plate Blair with the Giants' first run. 66ers starter Alex Keudell though did limit the damage in the inning retiring the next batter, Ricky Oropesa, on a fly out to center to strand runners at second and third.

San Jose had an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth as Bond drew a leadoff walk before Williamson singled to put runners on the corners. However, Keudell set down Oropesa on a shallow fly out to left, struck out Ryan Cavan and induced Arnold to pop out to end the inning and keep the game tied.

Meanwhile, Fleet pitched around a pair of singles in the top of the third before striking out the side in a perfect fourth inning. He allowed a two-out bloop double to Brennan Gowens in the fifth, but set down the next batter, Eric Stamets, to finish the inning. Fleet ended his night with a scoreless top of the sixth.

Jeff Soptic (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) kept Inland Empire off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings. Soptic struck out two in a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. The 66ers threatened in the eighth as Stamets reached on an error with one out before a walk to Alex Yarbrough. However, Soptic pitched out of trouble by retiring the next two hitters, Zach Borenstein and Michael Snyder, on back-to-back fly outs.

Harrold then needed just 10 pitches to breeze through the ninth inning before the Giants rallied in the bottom of the frame.

Carmine Giardina (1-1) suffered the loss out of the Inland Empire bullpen after he was charged with the decisive run in the bottom of the ninth. Keudell pitched the first seven innings with one run and six hits allowed. He walked two and struck out four.

Notes: The Giants swept a series for the first time since July 7-9 when they took three straight from the visiting Lake Elsinore Storm … Three of San Jose's last four home wins have come in their last at-bat … Inland Empire was held to just five runs over the three games in the series … The Giants out-hit the 66ers by a 9-6 margin on Sunday … Brown's ninth-inning walk gave him his first RBI with San Jose (fifth game) … The Giants improved their overall record to 72-54 with 14 games remaining in the regular season.

On Deck: After an off day, the Giants begin their final road trip of the regular season Tuesday night with the opener of a three-game series in Stockton. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Adalberto Mejia (4-4, 3.42 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while the Ports are expected to counter with James Simmons (7-6, 5.59 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM.